Dr. O'Barr spent two days in June, 2006 with the WS faculty as well as representatives of the central ASU administration.  In her writter report about our Program, she makes five specific recommendations:

(1) establish support staff for the WS Program;
(2) foster faculty scholarship;
(3) create faculty lines in WS;
(4) recognize formally the teaching in WS; and
(5) raise funds for the WS Program. 

Dr. O'Barr's recommendations were situated in her assessment of our current strengths and in comparison with national trends in women's studies.  It helped the WS faculty tremendously to hear an external reviewer's perspectives on our Program, especially given Dr. O'Barr's vast experience reviewing other WS programs across the country.  Her visit prompted us to have an important conversation about our long-term goals, about which there was considerable agreement.  As a result, this fall the WS faculty will gather for a retreat to discuss our research and other scholarly projects and plan a series of brownbag seminars on themes that emerge from the retreat.